Thomas Jügel

Dr. Thomas Jügel is a Researcher and Project Leader at Ruhr-Universität Bochum, focusing on the Middle Persian language and Zoroastrian texts through the MPCD project. He holds a PhD in Comparative Linguistics from Goethe-Universität Frankfurt (2013) and an MA in Iranic Studies from Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität Berlin (2004). His research explores historical linguistics, ergativity, tense/aspect systems, and Iranic dialectology, with a particular emphasis on Middle Iranic languages. Key projects include the digital annotation of Middle Persian corpora and investigations into Kurdish linguistic history.

His academic career includes postdoctoral research in Sweden, France, and Japan, supported by grants from DFG, JSPS, and Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung. Jügel’s publications span studies on Middle Persian morphology, Avestan computational analysis, and the syntactic evolution of Iranic languages. He collaborates internationally, contributing to journals like Science and Bibliotheca Orientalis, and co-edits volumes on word order variation and Indo-European language origins.

Current roles include leading the 'Aspect in Middle Persian' project and serving as a Research Associate at the Center for Religious Studies. His work bridges traditional linguistic analysis with computational methods, advancing digital corpus tools for ancient and medieval texts.